“Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Ich suche den Lehrer, der einfach genug ist, um groß zu sein und groß genug, um einfach zu sein.
Michael: a German fate in diary notes (1926)
“Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Gerald M. Weinberg (1933–2018) American computer scientist
Source: The secrets of consulting, 1985, p. 41
“If our brains were simple enough for us to understand them, we'd be so simple that we couldn't.”
Ian Stewart (1945) British mathematician and science fiction author
Source: The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) English composer
Anthony Burgess in The Observer, 1983; reprinted in his Homage to Qwert Yuiop (London: Abacus, 1987) p. 567.
Criticism
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) poet, mountaineer, occultist
Introduction.
Magick Book IV : Liber ABA, Part III : Magick in Theory and Practice (1929)
Context: The essence of
MAGICK
is simple enough in all conscience. It is not otherwise with the art of government. The Aim is simply prosperity; but the theory is tangled, and the practice beset with briars.
In the same way
MAGICK
is merely to be and to do. I should add: "to suffer". For Magick is the verb; and it is part of the Training to use the passive voice. This is, however, a matter of Initiation rather than of Magick in its ordinary sense. It is not my fault if being is baffling, and doing desperate!
Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) English writer
Non-Fiction, Homage to QWERT YUIOP: Selected Journalism 1978-1985 (1986)
“Hold still enough to grapple w/the simple questions, & the complexities become clear.”
David Allen (1945) American productivity consultant and author
6 July 2011 https://twitter.com/gtdguy/status/88499341613989888 <br class="br"> Official Twitter profile (@gtdguy) https://twitter.com/gtdguy
“It was beautiful and simple as all truly great swindles are.”
O. Henry (1862–1910) American short story writer
"The Octopus Marooned"
The Gentle Grafter (1908)
James Thurber (1894–1961) American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright
"The Trouble with Man is Man", The New Yorker; reprinted in Lanterns & Lances (1961).
From Lanterns and Lances